Educational Science

Giraffe's Tumor Removed in Tricky Surgery

WASHINGTON (AP) -- National zoo veterinarians treated a giraffe Wednesday for a tumor on its head, in what the chief vet said was the first such case of skin cancer. The 13-foot-tall Jafari was back on his feet and in seeming good health in his habitat following the 45-minute procedure...

'Devil monkeys' are attacking people in Thailand, Japan and India. Here's why.

Wildlife tourism thrives on our fascination with animals and primates are particularly attractive animals to tourists. With their human-like faces, complex family dynamics and acrobatic antics, they are a joy to behold. But recent stories have emerged that portray monkeys in a more sinister light. Reports of monkey attacks, devil...

Scientists in China have successfully cloned a rhesus monkey by providing the cloned embryo with a healthy placenta. The innovative technique could significantly increase the success rate of cloning, the researchers say. The monkey, named ReTro, is now three and a half years old and still doing well and growing...

Human elbows and shoulders evolved as 'brakes' for climbing ape ancestors

Humans have ape ancestors to thank for their flexible shoulders and elbows, which may have evolved as a natural braking mechanism for tree-scaling. Scientists made the discovery while watching numerous videos of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and sooty mangabey (Cercocebus atys) monkeys, which are much more distantly related to both chimps...

Monkeys in Indonesia use rocks as 'sex toys'

Monkeys in Indonesia get their rocks off using actual rocks, supporting what's known as the sex toy hypothesis, a new study finds. Researchers studying long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) found that the monkeys repetitively tapped and rubbed their genitals with stones to pleasure themselves, according to the study first reported by...

Wild chimps and gorillas can form social bonds that last for decades

To survive, animals compete for resources, be it food, mating partners or territory. But a ground breaking recent study shows chimpanzees and gorillas form friendships, some lasting at least 20 years. They play, eat and socialise together. It is the first study of its kind to see such long-term, peaceful...

Zoo monkey eats her baby's corpse after carrying it around for days

A monkey from a zoo in Europe was recently seen carrying around her baby's corpse for several days after it died. Then she devoured her own child. The mother's unusual actions may improve her chances of having another child in the future, experts say. In August 2020, the female drill...

Three chimps shot dead and four remain on the loose after mysterious zoo escape

Three chimpanzees have been shot dead and four remain on the loose after mysteriously escaping from their enclosure in Sweden's Furuvik zoo. The animals sprung themselves from their enclosure at midday on Wednesday (Dec. 14) to be met with gunfire from staff, who zoo officials claimed would have been put...

Rare White Giraffe Photographed

A researcher in Africa has finally spotted the rare white giraffe that he's been seeking for twelve years, and he's got a photograph to prove it. Charles Foley, a Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) researcher, first heard rumors of the white giraffe in 1993 when he was working in Tanzania's Tarangire...

Male monkeys on tiny island have way more sex with each other than females, scientists discover

Male rhesus monkeys on a tiny island in Puerto Rico have more sex with each other than they do with females, scientists have discovered. This behavior may be partially rooted in genetics, the team said. The researchers also found that male monkeys that had more sex with other males tended...